What Might Have Gone Unnoticed
by Silver Blazen
Summary: She walks on the same road leading to home, never expecting to dance in the shadows with a ghost in her dreams. (Steggy).


**_What Might Have Gone Unnoticed_**

 ** _All characters belong to Marvel Comics_**

 _ **For : JuliaAurelia**_

It had been a long journey home, maybe it was summer heat that was forming illusions as she walked alone through the streets of Brooklyn wearing a Chanel blue dress; never expecting in this lifetime to see a face emerge from the icy depths of the past when she dared to blink in the second the thunderous clap bullet discharged from the shadows behind her.

In those infinite seconds of reaction, Peggy was on the edge of death, the alertness of dread went into sync with a speeded pulse as fear reached new heights, on a beat of instinct, she spun on her heels and looked at the alleyway. Her dark eyes traced the vacant shadows as questions remained unvaried in her thoughts. She used caution and advanced closer to a brick wall, removing a pistol from her handbag, giving herself a quick assessment as breath swelled in her chest. "Get a hold of yourself, Carter," she murmured, grounding her rigid stance against the wall. The coldness of her gun stroked over her heated palm as she held the weapon in a taut clutch. She was prepared to fire on contact, her glaring brown eyes steeled, almost daring her target. "This isn't the first you've been shot at-Probably won't be the last."

Another shot rang in the shadows, Peggy didn't flinch as glass shattered from the window, she used grace and poised and fired her own warning shot, while tousled chocolate strands whipped across her feverish cheeks. In the back of her mind, flashes of memories with the SSR unit back on the front lines of Germany had grown into pictured clarity, she needed to maintain a level of sharpness and become ingenious when danger crossed her path. For a moment, she counted the echoes of footsteps, determining the distance and then with a brazen step and without the cover of darkness, she exposed herself in the open standoff and extended her arm outwards furtively, allowing the last remnants of sunset to gleam over her steady hand.

Before she pulled the trigger back, something cut through the blistering haze, a metallic sheen that clanged with a precise hit into the attacker's gut. Peggy froze. It wasn't the first time she had seen red and silver gleaming in the darkness as it glided swiftly back into a raised arm, and mounted over the hidden man's wrist. The one who allied her. She realized that it was impracticable, her mind playing tricks. Nothing more than a contrived illusion.

Then, something obstructed the harboring uncertainty, a distinct, masculine scent of minted aftershave. Lowering the gun, her senses were awakened as she looked ahead, narrowing her sight on the wooden stairwell. The smell grew potent stronger-intoxicating as she engaged with caution and halted her ardent strides inches away from the planks of stairs. The tall figure stood overhead, keeping distance in his favoring balance, as a pair of laced and worn boots revealed his presence.

To her heart's content, Peggy faltered a step and used a surge of defiance to settle an intent glance at the wooden steps attached to a rundown apartment. Right there in a pause of time, every painful memory, the unabated grief she harbored lifted when she steeled the courage to take another step closer to him. Blood heated in her veins and blurring tears edged in her dark eyes as the moment felt real. It was a chance to reach for him-to feel his broad arms hold her into a shielding embrace. She couldn't surrender to that dream, the urge to measure another step was traced with uncertainty. He was standing on the middle step, no shield fastened on the broad width of his shoulders, but strapped over his left arm and a leather bomber jacket had replaced his blue Spangled uniform. His shorten-cropped blond hair was tousled as the same boyish curve touching his forehead, and his stern and full lips were set in a neutral line as if he waited for her kiss.

"Steve..."

How could she believe in something that seemed impossible? Peggy knew that he was just an echo of memory, nothing more than a dream for her to grasp onto. The real Steven Grant Rogers had died in the plane crash under the ice beds of Greenland, this specter wasn't him. How could it be?

Composing her rampant emotions, Peggy clicked her heels to the steps, grounding her stance under his massive shadow and she braved to looked up at him. It was difficult to stare into his fierce azure eyes and defy her ambivalence. She measured up to him, never faltering with the gravity of hope taming her balance. In slow part of her lips, she whispered with firm resonance, trying to evoke the truth before she grasped onto it. "I know that it doesn't seem highly believable for you to be real, since I've fought with the truth for some time now, and I have faced it many times, but then Captain Rogers-Steve taught me how to believe in the impossible, even though I know you're just a reflection of a dream that I've been carrying since that blasted radio went dead..."

Peggy lowered her head to a downcast of shadow greeting her eyes, trying to obstruct her reserved hope with a balanced sense of unshakeable resistance, her guarded heart couldn't endure another painful memory, even if the moment given to her was real to push onward. She needed to break through limits and take a risk before her fractured emotions betrayed her. Tension squeezed in her chest."If you are real to flesh and bone, Captain," she leveled him with an unshakeable glare. "Then maybe I can take another step forward as you lead me into a dance."

A boyish smirk curved on his lips as light shimmered in his intent cerulean eyes. He was real, that glimpse of timidness on his youthful skin validated her belief. "Y'know I still can't dance..." he intoned with a Brooklyn drawl edging in his voice, as he tentatively glanced down at her idle He had a sudden desire to take her fully into the solid embrace of his arms. "I guess some practice might do me some good?"

She was breathless to answer him, tears edged in her eyes as she tried to believe in the moment balance of her stance felt unsteady as her heart thumped fiercely in her chest, the fullest of her shapely crimson lips parted to the wordless desire of restored heartache. She gazed at him, testing all senses until finally, she released a few errant tears. "You're alive..." she exhaled shakily, watching him dismally glance down at the shield. "How can you be here, Steve, Howard searched for the wreckage and found nothing...Did you escape before the plane went down?"

Steve nodded, the impressiveness of his stance faltered. He captured her gaze again. His hand lifted shakily over his blond locks, rough fingers raked through unkempt tresses as he displayed unease. It wasn't easy for his words to illustrate the valid truth-not to her. The closeness was reachable and forgiving, he couldn't dismiss the avid pain he felt, everything became unhinged. The iciness in his veins grew dominant as he finally answered her. "When the Red Skull's plane was closing in on the ice, I had one chance to jump, and I took it, mind you that it wasn't easy to get back up after the fall, but somehow I managed to recover and a freighter happened to be crossing near the glacier where I landed...So here I am back in Brooklyn, and staring at my best girl."

In a measure silence, Peggy recounted the vivid memories detachment of the warmth in his smile; it felt ungrounded to feel within his heart's reach again. Their connection had been tested, but this present moment held something profound to discover as two equal partners waiting to begin their dance. She couldn't follow his lead, not yet. Her dark eyes chased over the shadows of the alley, searching for evidence that would prove she was trapped in a dream.

When she meet the sincere depths of his intense azure eyes, the vitreous embers of Captain America, there was no more denying that the man before her was flesh and blood. He was close, anchoring her to embrace the rare moment of unexpected hope with him. She spun on her heels, leveling her stare with his. "I thought you were never coming back..."

Steve's eyes reflected a dismal gleam, he wasn't entirely sure how to respond, his heart became dismantled. "I'm here now, Peg," he whispered sincerely, his lips curving into a tender smile; lifting his hand with a gentle attempt to caress her face. She inched closer, tilting her head to feel the roughness of his fingertips glided over her feverish skin with a brush of reluctant tenderness. Their bodies froze with steady heartbeats. He was towering over her, grounded with reserved trust as his stance never faltered when she returned his touch. Nothing compared to his thermal heat, the blaze of fire in his azure eyes as she stared further into his gaze, it was unrestrained contact longing for release.

"Peg," he breathed against her cheek, tears dashed over the chiseled edges of his face, his arching lips ghosted a trail of heat over her skin, it made her chest ache with urging pulses of her heart.

She wanted to discard everything, feel his unkempt blond tresses softening against her palms as she desired to openly lead him into a dance. Time...the war had taken pieces of her away. She needed to embrace life after death. Ignoring the constant flutters in her tight knotted stomach, she gathered up fleeting breaths and leaned into his shoulder, as dense muscles flexed against connective plush of her scarlet lips. She didn't want to close her eyes, fear of waking up alone sailed through her. "Just hold me, Steve."

"Is that an order, Agent Carter?" he softly teased, feeling the heaviness in his chest lifting. He exhaled deeply, fervent gusts of evened breath caressing her neck as the luscious fragrance of her chocolate ringlets graced his senses. Devotion would be tested as the closeness of her body aligned against his. A blur of memory brought him back to the fleeting seconds on the runaway of HYDRA's airbase; the tangible moment where she gripped onto the straps of his uniform and angled her head to openly meet his lips as he tilted down to deliver every surge of his love, the rushes of adrenaline and the softness of her beautiful lips fell into sync as he blocked out the frantic volumes of the mission, and allowed his arching mouth to fully encompass their farewell kiss. Now, he could relive it again with her; no more waiting.

The blood in his veins hastened. Flares of heat grew relentless as his chest, driving him to finally take a step of daring faith and kiss the woman both the little guy from Brooklyn and the super-soldier loved. He wasn't on the edge of the icy void anymore. He was about to soar into a new tomorrow with her. As he deeply stared into her dark eyes, the shield fell to the steps in an echoing clang; leather of his jacket scrunched. With reverent motion, his fingers splayed over her curves, his arm braced along her back, mindful of her dress as he urgently leaned her into the bulked ridges of his torso. One hitch in his breath touched her lips. They were parallel. With cemented desire residing in his bones, Steve closed his eyes, resting his forehead against her loose bangs as his nose mash into her cheek at the moment their lips shakily parted. Her palm curved over his shortened blond locks, meeting the sharpness of his jaw as he angled his head just enough for the arch of his lips to fluidly caress hers with a trace of sensual heat.

Dulcet echoes of the fading day matched the steadiness thrumming her chest, there was no pulse of restraint, Peggy didn't hold back as tentative, hot compresses of his mouth became welcomed relief. The deepened kiss was an interlude of a new dream, birthed with undying love and union to share in their uncertain future: a lifetime of dancing.

Peggy smiled against his mouth. A warm trek of tears escaped from her eyes, falling down her cheeks, as she held onto him. They broke apart in a slow, feverish ease, softness of his lips melting over hers with one last edge of reserved desire. "Let's go home, Captain," she whispered, sliding her hand to his side, their fingers interlocked, as hands were held with the assurance of a promise. He wasn't letting go of her, he came back to learn how to dance with her equal rhythm. To live again.

Steve picked up his shield, holding her hand into his strength."Lead the way, Agent Carter."

She did.


End file.
